1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to particular packages for holding food products such as rigid taco shells arranged in a nested array where the package includes a paperboard tray which has features affecting the retention of the array of shells in the package.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advent of the popularity of Mexican food in this country, the preparation of dishes in the home has resulted in certain food items, such as taco shells, being made available commercially at relatively low cost. Taco shells are generally a thin fried tortilla which may be shipped to the consumer flat in a stack and frozen for later final preparation, or folded into the configuration used for making a taco. This second configuration presents a packaging problem because the shells are normally quite brittle and tend to break if they are packaged loosely, or if the nested array is not properly enclosed. Previous packaging techniques have included the use of a simple open top straight sided tray into which a nested array of shells are placed with a film overwrap heat shrinkable into contact with the shells and tray. This has proved less than desirable since the length of the nested array is not always constant allowing the array to shift within the package and also since there is no support for the open end of the array with the result that the exposed edges of the taco shells at the open end break from outside contact.